DECEMBER FEATURE #1: Wormwood, Nevada by David Oppegaard

[paulgoatallen]

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pen21 wrote:

Suicide Collectors will be delivered this week. I won't get started on it right away.

But I am looking forward to it. I will have to find the thread on here to see what everyone was saying.

pen12

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Pen:

Have you ever read McCarthy's The Road?

Paul

[pen21]

Yes I have read The Road. It was excellent. One of the best books I have read.

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paulgoatallen wrote: 

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pen21 wrote:

Suicide Collectors will be delivered this week. I won't get started on it right away.

But I am looking forward to it. I will have to find the thread on here to see what everyone was saying.

pen12

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Pen:

Have you ever read McCarthy's The Road?

Paul

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[paulgoatallen]

Pen:

Excellent. Because for me, David's The Suicide Collectors was similar in ambiance... it's a very dark read but I found myself just immersed in the world that he created.  Like Wormwood, Nevada, it's a book that will leave you highly contemplative – and that's a good thing. Too many things in our society are deemed black or white – this novel is decidedly gray...

Paul

[DavidOppegaard]

You know, I'm starting to think "gray" might become my thing.  Every writer has a "thing", right?  An angle on the world, if you will.  Maybe my thing will be the ambiguous nature of life.   One moment, you're feeling terrible, or something terrible is happening in the world around you.  The next moment, everything could change, at least in your view, and everything's pretty great.  Most people feel and live these extremes on a daily basis, when the truth is usually somewhere in the middle, in the gray area.  I'm interested in exploring that gray area and seeing where it leads me, both as a writer and as some 30 year old guy currently living in St. Paul, Minnesota. 

In many ways marriage, in my outsider's opinion, seems like the perfect example of the Gray Area.  It can be wonderful and it can be horrible and it can be both. Tyler and Anna are my attempts at creating a two-person gray area in the middle of a town on the edge of a big gray area.

I hope this makes sense.  I'm three days into a pretty formidable head cold right now. 

[pen21]

Thank you. This is why you are the writer and I am the reader.

You stated "Tyler and Anna are my attempts at creating a two-person gray area in the middle of a town on the edge of a big gray area."

You described exactly what I was thinking after reading the book.

I think the "gray" some of us are in.

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DavidOppegaard wrote:

You know, I'm starting to think "gray" might become my thing.  Every writer has a "thing", right?  An angle on the world, if you will.  Maybe my thing will be the ambiguous nature of life.   One moment, you're feeling terrible, or something terrible is happening in the world around you.  The next moment, everything could change, at least in your view, and everything's pretty great.  Most people feel and live these extremes on a daily basis, when the truth is usually somewhere in the middle, in the gray area.  I'm interested in exploring that gray area and seeing where it leads me, both as a writer and as some 30 year old guy currently living in St. Paul, Minnesota. 

In many ways marriage, in my outsider's opinion, seems like the perfect example of the Gray Area.  It can be wonderful and it can be horrible and it can be both. Tyler and Anna are my attempts at creating a two-person gray area in the middle of a town on the edge of a big gray area.

I hope this makes sense.  I'm three days into a pretty formidable head cold right now. 

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[DavidOppegaard]

No problem!  Happy holidays.  It's snowing like mad here in St. Pau...

[pen21]

I am over in the Minneapolis suburbs and yes it is snowing.

Keep warm and watch it snow.

Happy Holidays!

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DavidOppegaard wrote:

No problem!  Happy holidays.  It's snowing like mad here in St. Pau...

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[pen21]

I am now reading Suicide Collectors. I will post on the original thread some thoughts I have.

Great book!

David,

Thanks for stopping by to participate in the discussion.

It helps when the author gives their thoughts on the book.

I will watch your website for your appearances.

Maybe I will catch you sometime over on the Minneapolis side.

pen21

[pen21]

For those in Minnesota, David Oppegaard will be at the Barnes and Noble in Maple Grove, MN.

Check out the link below.

http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/author-events/David-Oppegaard/2072714

[paulgoatallen]

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pen21 wrote:

For those in Minnesota, David Oppegaard will be at the Barnes and Noble in Maple Grove, MN.

Check out the link below.

http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/author-events/David-Oppegaard/2072714

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Are you in MN, pen? Going to go?

Paul

[pen21]

Yes, I am going!

I will be bringing my books to be signed.

It is always good to hear an author in person. It brings another perspective to the books.

It is good to see Barnes and Noble supporting an author that has been on the boards here.

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paulgoatallen wrote:

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pen21 wrote:

For those in Minnesota, David Oppegaard will be at the Barnes and Noble in Maple Grove, MN.

Check out the link below.

http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/author-events/David-Oppegaard/2072714

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Are you in MN, pen? Going to go?

Paul

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[pen21]

I saw David Oppegaard last night.

I attended David's reading and signing.

I got Suicide Collectors and Wormwood, Nevada signed.

It was nice to meet him in person.

David said the next book will be dark like the Suicide Collectors.

So I will be watching his website for that one.

pen21

[paulgoatallen]

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pen21 wrote:

I saw David Oppegaard last night.

I attended David's reading and signing.

I got Suicide Collectors and Wormwood, Nevada signed.

It was nice to meet him in person.

David said the next book will be dark like the Suicide Collectors.

So I will be watching his website for that one.

pen21

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Pen:

That is so exciting! Did he read from Wormwood, Nevada? I wish I saw it!

Paul

[pen21]

Yes he read 4 different parts of Wormwood, Nevada.

David remembers paulgoatallen. Sounds like you made a good impression.

Maybe you can ask him back for the third book.

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paulgoatallen wrote:

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pen21 wrote:

I saw David Oppegaard last night.

I attended David's reading and signing.

I got Suicide Collectors and Wormwood, Nevada signed.

It was nice to meet him in person.

David said the next book will be dark like the Suicide Collectors.

So I will be watching his website for that one.

pen21

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Pen:

That is so exciting! Did he read from Wormwood, Nevada? I wish I saw it!

Paul

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[paulgoatallen]

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pen21 wrote:

Yes he read 4 different parts of Wormwood, Nevada.

David remembers paulgoatallen. Sounds like you made a good impression.

Maybe you can ask him back for the third book.

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Pen:

Believe me, I'll be inviting him back for every single novel he releases!

Paul